International visitors embrace rose culture in Dingtao's 'first town of Chinese roses'

International friends admire roses. [Photo by Liu Tianyu for chinadaily.com.cn]

On May 16, Dingtao district in Heze, Shandong province, organized a series of events titled "Explore Shandong, Feel Heze" at Huangdian town. One of events, titled "Experience Dingtao, Encounter the 'Rose' Goodness", invited international friends from countries such as Pakistan, Vietnam, and Myanmar to visit the "First Town of Chinese Roses".

During the event, the foreigners visited the rose fields and admired the vivid blossoms. They also learned to make rose hairpins, tasted rose pastries and rose tea at the rose culture exhibition area, appreciated traditional Chinese rose paintings, and joined teachers to create rose paper-cutting art. 

 International friends learn paper-cutting from the teacher. [Photo by Liu Tianyu for chinadaily.com.cn]

"Today, I also learned Chinese paper-cutting. With just a few cuts, the paper was transformed into a beautiful rose. Chinese paper-cutting is truly magical," said Neelam, a Pakistani girl who participated in the event. 

The rose planting area in Huangdian town has surpassed 12,600 mu (about 840 hectares). The art of painting and cutting roses has become a part of the daily lives of residents. The strong rose culture not only enhances understanding of Chinese traditional culture among foreigners but also adds to the appeal of Heze's flower culture. (Edited by Huang Junyao)